Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Birthday to Me (Birthday Trilogy #1) by Brian Rowe
Release Date: April 7, 2011


3/5 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Cameron Martin has a huge problem: he’s aging a whole year of his life with each passing day!
High school is hard enough; imagine rapidly aging from seventeen to seventy in a matter of weeks, with no logical explanation, and with prom, graduation, and the state championship basketball game all on the horizon. That’s what happens to Cameron, a popular pretty boy who's never had to face a day looking anything but perfect.
All Cameron wants to do is go back to normal, but no one, not even the best doctors, can diagnose his condition. When he finds love with a mysterious young woman, however, he realizes his only hope for survival might be with the one person who started his condition in the first place...

After being unsure of what to expect from Happy Birthday to Me, but this is one of those books that proves to you that there are some gems of self-pub books out there. If you're looking for something a little bit outside of the box, and a well-written quick read then this is a good one to look into.
Reasons to Read:

1. "Beauty and the Beast" minus the Beauty:
   
   Cameron undergoes some serious growth and character development, which is totally endearing to watch unfold. And similar to the Beast, he needs to learn a very important lesson about himself and how he sees others. With a plot like that, it's completely reminiscent of Beauty & the Beast, even if there isn't any cute, book-loving girls in it (besides the ones actually reading Happy Birthday to Me).
2. A distinctive story:
   
   If you've seen Benjamin Button, then it's the same idea but executed in a very different way. One thing I found particularly refreshing about this story was that it was told from the perspective of a completely ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances. But there really isn't anything that special about him... It's creative and stands out among a plethora of YA novels.

I found Cam to be such an interesting character, and there were times when I really wasn't sure what to make of him. But he's definitely the kind that grows on you- and he's flawed, in a realistic kind of way which I appreciate.

Brian Rowe writes well, and the amount of consideration and effort put into this book is evident. If anything, the ending was a bit rushed and the story lacking some overall depth, but thankfully this is the first of a series which will hopefully assist in these areas with further books. I would have loved to have seen a bit more complexity in both the plot and some of the secondary characters, which fell a bit flat, such as Charisma and Wesley. Cam and his parents, on the other hand, were some that were just jumping off the page with their fascinating actions.

Review copy received from author in exchange for my honest review; no other compensation received.